For educators, therapists, and neurodivergence professionals, staying abreast of the latest research on executive functioning is not just a professional obligation, but a key strategy for ensuring the success of our students.
In a dynamic field where changes in technology and interventions are frequent, understanding and applying the latest findings on executive functioning can significantly enhance your success in the classroom.
But with shrinking prep times, lesson plans, parent emails, and hundreds of other demands on our time, who has time to comb through academic journals or spend evenings in a lecture hall?
Thankfully, staying current with executive functioning research doesn’t have to mean hours of intensive reading and studying. With a bit of planning and strategy, you can offer the latest and greatest to your students and still have time for yourself at the end of the day.
Let’s check out these practical steps, real-world examples, and valuable tips on staying current with EF research:
The Benefits of Staying Current on Executive Functioning Research
Before delving into the how-tos, let’s explore why it’s crucial for teachers, therapists and other neurodivergence professionals to keep themselves informed about executive functioning research. This feels a bit like preaching to the choir, since most licensed professionals are obligated by their professional disciplines to take continuing education units. But if you’re on the fence at all about why it’s important to stay current on evidence-based practice in executive functioning, here are a few reasons to take note:
Implement Evidence-Based Practice
Firstly, staying current allows you to implement evidence-based practices. By aligning your teaching strategies with the latest research findings, you ensure that your interventions are not only effective but also backed by scientific evidence. And honestly, why would you want to do anything that’s not been demonstrated to be effective for neurodivergent students?
Individualized Interventions
Moreover, understanding the intricacies of executive functioning research enables you to tailor your teaching methods to the unique needs of your students. As a professional working with neurodivergent individuals, recognizing the diverse executive functioning challenges your students may face is essential for providing targeted support.
Be More Effective
Staying current on the latest research is required by many of our professional disciplines in part because it helps us be more effective with our learners. Students have better outcomes from teachers that receive well-developed continuing education. Staying current on research also helps teacher better understand problem areas and resolve issues with their learners more quickly.
Step-by-Step Guidance for Research Review
Now you know why it’s so important to stay up-to-date on the latest executive functioning research, let’s break down the process of how to review it into manageable steps.
This step-by-step guidance is designed to make the research review process accessible and actionable for teachers, therapists, and any professionals who work with neurodivergent students. If you’re a parent who is also looking for strategies to help your child, these steps can also be tailored to meet your needs.
Create a “Research Log” Document
One of the challenges of reviewing research is having a concise way to store the information you encounter for later. We recommend having a specific document or desktop folder to log all of the research you review, or to use an app like Evernote or Google Keep. Save links, citations, and create a running list of references you can use later on when you need to pull a resource for a particular student.
For a free .pdf downloadable “research log” document you can use to collect notes and links for your practice, sign up below:
Develop The Search Terms
Each professional will likely have keyword searches that will generate the most productive research findings for your specific discipline. We recommend that you create a list of search terms and phrases and store them either in an email or “notes” document on your smartphone. Consider some of these search term combinations:
Utilize An Online Search Platform
- Once you have search terms, we recommend starting with a simple online search for those terms in Google, Google Scholar, or Consensus, our favorite one-stop resources for getting the latest information about interventions and evidence-based practice.
- By starting with Google you’ll get a general sense of the other search terms for the topic and what may be available in the ‘latest news’ category for a particular topic. Not all of the search results will be evidence-based or science related, so it’s important to then take those same topics to Google Scholar, which focuses primarily on academic and research resources.
- In Google Scholar, it’s possible to narrow up search terms and then use the filter features to sort by the most recent year and the number of citations. You can also sign up for alerts for a specific set of keywords to be notified when new articles appear.
- Consensus is a newer search platform that harnesses the power of AI to make searching through academic research easier and more seamless. Simply type in a question (e.g. “How do teens best learn time management skills?”) and it will use AI generation to create a list of citations that best answer your question.
“Breeze the Abstracts”
- Once you’ve found potential studies, we next recommend taking a critical look at the abstract of the study or the meta description that appears under the search term. Consider factors like sample size, research design, and data analysis methods to gauge how relatable information might be to your own practice.
Save it For Later
- Create concise summaries of the key findings from the selected studies in your research summary document. This will help you generate actionable items for your practice. If you have questions about the research or would like to share it, take a few minutes to open an email and send it to yourself or a colleague. Doing so right away saves the time of having to re-generate the search terms again.
A Real-World Case Study on How to Review the Topic “Organizing Strategies for Teens with ASD”
Let’s explore a real-world example case study focusing on a common search term we see in our coaching practice: “organizing strategies for teens with ASD.”
Identification of the Keywords
Begin by identifying the specific aspect of executive functioning you want to explore. In this case, it’s not just “organizing strategies” and “teens,” as we’ll also want to include the search terms “neurodivergent” “autism” and “young adults” as sometimes these terms will come up with conflicting reports.
Conduct the Literature Search
Conduct a literature search using relevant keywords like “organizing and teens with ASD” and “organizing skills in teens.”
In this case, the top 2 pages of articles didn’t turn up with any intervention-specific items, so we removed the term “teen” and just searched “organizational skills” and “autism”
This turned up quite a few more interventions. Using the timeline sorting features on the left, we were able to narrow up the 7,200+ results to around 400 by sorting to studies published in the past two years only.
Critical Analysis of Meta Descriptions
We then took a quick glance through the meta descriptions for each of the top 20 articles. Evaluating the selected studies, we paid close attention to articles that include specific tools and interventions, and indicated that they were implemented for the classroom.
By reading the abstracts, we discovered several of these interventions showcased specific smartphone apps that were easily accessible to our own coaching clients. We also found one study about a group executive functioning skills group that seemed applicable to our own practice.
Application to Practice
Now, here’s the hard part. How does one translate the key findings of a Google Scholar study into actionable strategies for your teaching or therapy practice? This is the step that takes the most creativity and research experience. We recommend asking these types of questions to help apply it to your own practice:
- How does this study look similar to my own practice?
- What things am I already doing that look similar?
- What is one element I could pull from into my own practice?
- How could I test if this study results might also work for me?
- What is an actionable next step I could take to put this into practice?
For example, if a research study embedded visuals into teaching social skills to their students, perhaps you might have similar success adding a visual organizing tool to your classroom activities as well.
Tips and Best Practices for Bringing Executive Functioning Research Into Practice
As a professional now navigating the realm of executive functioning research, here are some tips and best practices to enhance your engagement with scholarly articles and studies. Keep in mind that most teachers and parents find reading research to be a step out of their comfort zone. These habits can help:
- Establish a Routine – Set aside dedicated time in your schedule for research review. Even if it’s 15 or 30 minutes once per month to work through the search steps above. Consistency is key to staying updated on the latest advancements.
- Hold a Collaboration Session with Peers – Foster a culture of collaboration within your community of colleagues. Discussing research findings over lunch or at a morning coffee session once per month can provide diverse perspectives and insights. Set it up so each person brings one new intervention to share or have one person be the “host” and provide a review of a study or topic they found interesting. This can reduce the amount of time you spend reviewing studies and help you find the best information.
- Add in Podcasts and Webinars On the Go – Take advantage of your car ride or commute to review on-the-go professional development resources like podcasts, webinars, or research summaries tailored to neurodivergence and education. These tools can help you review the latest interventions at a time when you’re otherwise not in the classroom or with clients.
Potential Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
It’s also important to be mindful of a few common pitfalls that may hinder the process and the outcomes as you start reviewing executive functioning research.
- Getting Caught in Theoretical vs. Applicable – It’s easy when you’re reviewing research study summaries to get bogged down in the theoretical underpinnings of a specific topic. Or to spend 3 hours digesting a complex statistical nightmare. The best publications are those where the research you engage with has immediate practical applications. If a study seems too complex, it’s probably okay to set it aside and search for resources that better fit you and your learners.
- Ignoring Diverse Perspectives: Executive functioning challenges vary among students and when we consider neurodiversity, it can be easy to assume that what works for participants in one study, will automatically work for your learners. Be sure to avoid making hasty generalizations and to carefully consider the needs of your individual learners.
- Only Searching When There’s A Problem – While it’s always okay to go back to the drawing board when a learner is having difficulties, that’s not the best way to stay current with executive functioning research. Regular, consistent check-ins with your research resources will help you stay better informed and give you new ideas before there’s a challenge.
- Not Reaching Out to Others – Colleagues are the best place to connect about the current research in executive functioning skills. We encourage you to check in with us at Life Skills Advocate, your local licensing community, or other professionals in your region. If you have questions about a study, most authors include contact information as part of their publication. Send an email to clarify, ask for resources or additional support on how to apply their research findings to your own practice.
Conclusion
In conclusion, staying current on executive functioning research is not just a professional responsibility but a pathway to unlocking the full potential of your students. By following the step-by-step guidance, learning from real-world case studies, and applying practical tips, high school special education teachers can navigate the ever-evolving landscape of educational research. Embrace the journey of continuous learning, and let the latest executive functioning research be a guiding light in your mission to empower and educate every student under your care.
Further Reading
- Monash University – The role of research in the professional development of graduate teachers
- Yoon, K. S., Duncan, T., Lee, S. W.-Y., Scarloss, B., & Shapley, K. (2007). Reviewing the evidence on how teacher professional development affects student achievement